Development of new spot test for the identification of ketamine and its application for forensic samples – Blood, injection, and viscera

Abstract

Ketamine is used as an anesthetic drug and is most prevalent among young adults because it has gained popularity as a date rape drug. There is a lesser number of forensic kits that involve reagents to determine the Ketamine. Therefore, new spot tests are developed to identify the presence of Ketamine majorly in the forensic samples–blood, viscera, and injection. The present study comprises of modified spot test by mixing the standard drug with various reagents such as 1-napthylamin (C10H9N), beta-naphthol (C10H8O), Hydrochloric acid (HCl), N-(1-Naphthyl) ethylenediamine dihydrochloride (C12H16Cl2N2), and Sodium nitrite (NaNO2) for the detection of ketamine. Five spot tests were developed. The GC-MS analysis was further been performed to confirm the presence of ketamine. Therefore, it could be incorporated into the field of forensic toxicology. The new presumptive color tests or spot tests for the illicit drug; ketamine was developed. These tests show good specificity. The compounds which were tested in the present study show the variation of colors as a result when treated with different types of reagents.